“Addressing 14 modifiable risk factors in childhood and throughout life could prevent or delay nearly half of all cases of dementia,” a Lancet commission estimates.
- The term “dementia” covers several diseases that affect memory, thinking and the ability to perform everyday tasks.
- Due to the rapid ageing of the global population, the number of people with dementia is expected to almost triple by 2050, from 57 million in 2019 to 153 million.
- To counter this phenomenon, members of a Lancet commission are banking on prevention.
To combat dementia, prevention is essential. This is how we could summarize a vast report published on July 31 by The Lancet.
Dementia: what are the 14 modifiable risk factors?
Based on the latest available data, the authors identified two new risk factors for dementia: vision loss and high cholesterol. “Our report adds two new risk factors that are associated with 9% of all cases of dementia, with an estimated 7% of cases attributable to the presence of bad cholesterol from around age 40 and an estimated 2% of cases attributable to untreated vision loss in old age,” they specify.
These two new elements are added to the 12 risk factors previously identified by the same Lancet commission in 2020: low education level, hearing impairment, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, depression, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury, air pollution and social isolation.
“Addressing these 14 modifiable risk factors in childhood and throughout life could prevent or delay nearly half of all cases of dementia,” scientists estimate.
A list of new recommendations to combat dementia
The Lancet Commission therefore formulates a list of concrete recommendations for governments and individuals to prevent the onset of dementia:
– provide all children with a quality education.
– Be cognitively active.
– Make hearing aids available to all hearing impaired people.
– Reduce exposure to harmful noise.
– Detect and treat high cholesterol from around age 40.
– Make screening and treatment of visual impairments accessible to all.
– Treat depression effectively.
– Wear head protection in contact sports and when cycling.
– Increase social contacts if necessary.
– Reduce exposure to air pollution.
– Reduce smoking.
– Reduce the sugar and salt content of foods sold in stores and restaurants.
Due to the rapid ageing of the global population, the number of people with dementia is expected to almost triple by 2050, from 57 million in 2019 to 153 million.
“The term ‘dementia’ covers several diseases that affect memory, thinking and the ability to perform everyday tasks,” precise WHO.
